Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover –
A Late-Summer Paranormal Love Story
By
Kelli A. Wilkins
Hi romance lovers,
To celebrate
the summer months, I’ve been posting a “Summer Romance Series” of blogs. Summer
may be almost over, but there’s still time to hit the beach. In fact, I wrote a
romance that plays upon this “end of season” time of year.
My contemporary paranormal, Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover,
is a different type of romance. For starters, the novella is told in the first
person from the hero’s point of view. The story also makes use of a setting
where you don’t normally find vampires—the beach!
Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover is a unique end-of-summer romance. The story is told
in first person by Brian, the hero. Why? It just came out that way. As I was
writing, it felt more believable to have Brian tell the story of how he met and
fell in love with a vampire. Readers meet Brian and are swept into the story as
it unfolds for him, so they’re more personally involved.
Most romances are told in third person and
alternate between the hero and heroine’s points-of view. This story is
different in that we don’t hear from Anya (the heroine) at all, other than in
dialogue, and we only get to know her through Brian.
The setting also makes it a bit unusual.
Most readers don’t think of the beach as a place to find a vampire. When Brian
first sees Anya, she is sitting on the beach at night reading a book by
moonlight. I wanted to contrast the differences between Brian and Anya from the
start. He’s a sun-worshipping surfer who is outside all day, and she’s a
nocturnal loner, happy to lose herself in a romance novel when nobody else is
around.
The idea for the story came to me as I was
sitting on the beach one afternoon in late October. It was cool and windy, and
I had on a light jacket and sunglasses. Nobody else was on the beach (except
for my surfer husband) and I liked the desolate surroundings.
I started thinking… what if a vampire went
to the beach at night to do all the things regular people did during the day?
What if the vampire fell in love with a surfer? It would be like night and day.
Would he give up his life in the sunlight to be with the woman he loves? That’s
the main question of the story, and Brian’s ultimate dilemma.
I liked the idea of contrasting typical sun worshipping beachgoers and
surfers with a darkness-loving elusive vampire. Besides, what could be more
mismatched than a die-hard surfer falling in love with a nocturnal
blood-drinker?
As I was writing, I wanted to capture the
essence of what Brian was experiencing when he was with Anya. So I gave the
book a surreal, almost Gothic, dreamlike feel. I also knew that a vampire
romance could easily become too gory or too realistic when it came to feeding
and turn into a horror story.
When I’m writing a paranormal romance, I
have to be careful I don’t cross the line from paranormal romance into horror.
The “monster” character must retain human traits and remain a sympathetic
character the reader can identify with and like.
If your paranormal creature is too scary
or the story gets too gory it will turn off romance readers and cross over into
the horror genre. I liked creating Anya. And I deliberately kept a lot of her
background a mystery. Anya is a gentle, sensitive vampire… up to a point. We do
get to see a more violent and assertive part of her vampire nature—but she has
a good reason.
Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover is also a very explicit romance. Anya is a sensual
woman with needs that must be satisfied, and Brian is all for helping sate her
desires. (Believe it or not, some e-book sales channels won’t carry the book
because it’s labeled “erotica.)
But this isn’t just an erotic love story; there’s plenty of plot and drama
for all romance lovers. It’s a unique blend of vampires, romance, and the
beach. Confessions of a
Vampire’s Lover makes
a great summer read and I’m proud to say it got several excellent reviews.
Readers and reviewers like the first-person aspect—it pulls you into a story
that would seem unbelievable.
Here’s the summary and link:
Confessions of a Vampire’s
Lover
The moment Brian spotted Anya sitting on the moonlit beach, he was
hooked. Beautiful, smart, and sexy, Anya was the girl of his dreams. She didn’t
mind that he spent the hot summer days riding the ocean waves, because once the
sun set, he belonged to her—all night long!
Everything is perfect between them—until Brian discovers Anya’s shocking
secret. Can Brian give up the sun, sand, and surf to be with the woman he
loves?
Read Brian’s first-hand account of their unusual love story in… Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover.
Read reviews
and order your copy of Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover here:
https://www.kelliwilkins.com/confessions-of-a-vampire-s-lover
I hope you’ll check it out. It’s the perfect blend of
steamy beach romance and mystery to end your summer!
Happy Reading,
Kelli A. Wilkins
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins is an award-winning author who has
published more than 100 short stories, 24 romance novels, and 9
mystery/thriller/horror ebooks. Her romances span many genres and settings, and
she likes to scare readers with her horror, mystery, and thriller fiction.
Her latest book, The Route 9 Stalker, was
published in January 2026. This mystery/thriller is set in Central NJ and
follows Detective Jim Rourke on a disturbing new case. Meet him for the first
time in The Route 9 Killer.
Look for a new short story coming in August! Kelli’s story “Neighborhood Watch” will be
included in the upcoming Witches Save the
World: Covens, Cauldrons and Curses Gone Right anthology.
Kelli's 24th
romance, For Love’s Sake, an epic historical/fantasy
romantic adventure, was published in January 2025.
In 2024, she
released Surreal Escapes, a collection of 7
speculative/spooky stories. Anything can—and does—happen in this anthology.
Follow Kelli on her Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins
and visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com
for a full title list, social media links, and more.
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